Art Hostage Services
-
The Art Hostage team undertakes a wide range of services, including due diligence, collection conservation and management, risk assessment and security as well as legal issues, recovery and dispute resolution involving art and artifacts. Through partnerships with leading organizations, the Art Hostage team can provide a complete service for all aspects of collecting and protecting art.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Exceedingly Nice Artworks Stolen from Kipling's former Home Bateman's !!

Burglary at Kipling's former home

Two Tiffany lamps worth tens of thousands of pounds have been stolen from a former home of Rudyard Kipling.Bateman's, a 17th Century Jacobean property run by the National Trust, was hit by burglars in the early hours.

Police in East Sussex said the two lamps could have been stolen to order. Nothing else was taken in the break-in.

A National Trust spokesman said Kipling bought the lamps in the 1890s. "It's because of their association with him that they're valuable to us," he said.A burglar alarm linked to a security centre was activated at the property, in Burwash, near Heathfield, at about 0200 BST on Saturday.

Police said entry had been gained through a downstairs window.

Det Insp Paul Phelps said: "One of our lines of inquiry is that the lamps were specifically targeted, but it could also be that the offenders grabbed what they could when the alarms sounded.

"We would appeal to people within the antiquities market to be aware that these lamps have been stolen."

Bateman's was closed to the public on Saturday morning while forensic examinations were carried out.

Jonathan Light, from the National Trust, said the 12 to 18in-tall (30-45cm) lamps had been on separate tables in a parlour room.

"It's obviously upsetting because these items are there for the public to enjoy, so it robs them as much as anything," he said.

The building was not covered by CCTV cameras, but Mr Light said there would have been security staff on site when the burglary happened.

A lamp similar to one of those stolen has an auction guide price of at least £5,000 on the Bonhams website.

Bateman's also houses the author's original illustrations for The Jungle Book.

Himself a former trafficker of stolen art, Turbo Paul Hendry M.A. provides information to the readers of his blogs (including collectors, victims, insurers, and other members of the public) regarding the latest news from the world of stolen art and artifacts and, wherever possible, he assists in the recovery of art and artifacts stolen by others. Art Hostage, for the last Ten years, has provided services to private individuals, insurers, law enforcement agencies, and to those who have information that will lead to the recovery of stolen art.